Friday, 24 October 2008Top stories this week£13m to buy unsold homes for affordable housing.....read more The Rightmove house price index....read moreNAEA survey: Increasing number of first time buyers.....read moreHousebuilding Innovation Awards 2008.....read moreQuick LinksGovernment and political newsHousing market newsEconomic newsIndustry newsEventsGovernment and political news£13 million to buy unsold homes for affordable housingA £13m deal to buy unsold homes for affordable housing was announced this week, as part of the Government's programme of action aimed at tackling current difficulties in the housing market.The deal is the first to go through the Government's new National Clearing House, which enables home builders to put forward offers to sell their unsold stock for use as affordable housing.Funding to purchase the homes comes from the Government's initial £200m tranche to buy unsold stock off the open market. More than 2,000 unsold homes have now been bought by the Government for use as affordable housing.The funding will mean that 335 affordable homes will be available, mainly for social rent, on sites across the country following the agreement, between the Housing Corporation, Bloor Homes and housing provider Sanctuary GroupRead more to topRecommendations aimed at improving the Private Rented Sector for both tenants and landlordsThe independent review into the Private Rented Sector (PRS), headed by Julie Rugg of the University of York and published this week, recommends a new drive to improve the quality of the sector through:Introducing a light touch licensing system for landlords and mandatory regulation for letting agencies, to increase protection for both vulnerable tenants and good landlords. Tax changes to encourage good landlords to grow, including changes to stamp duty to encourage them to buy more properties.Looking at ways for the PRS to be more accommodating towards households on lower incomes, including considering more support for landlords prepared to house more vulnerable people.Local authorities taking steps to better understand the sector and support good landlords whilst tackling poorly performing landlords and promoting tenants' rights. Housing Minister Margaret Beckett welcomed the report and said the Government agrees with the need to improve the sector for both landlords and tenants and would carefully consider the findings before setting out the next steps.Mrs Beckett said:"The private rented sector plays a really important role in the housing market. Many of us have rented a house at some stage of our lives and it's crucial that we have a high quality sector that works well for both landlords and tenants, and encourages mobility."Read more Mayor of London Boris Johnson to abolish 50% London wide affordable housing targetThe Greater London Authority (GLA) has written to every London borough proposing an indicative target for affordable housing delivery over the next three years taking into account local housing capacity, recent affordable housing delivery and any existing targets the boroughs have committed to. Each borough will have the opportunity to present their own evidence in discussions with the GLA before final targets are agreed early in 2009.The Mayor believes that a collaborative approach to working with boroughs will deliver the affordable homes that Londoners need and reduce the capital's housing waiting lists.The commitment to the housing investment target will be included in his draft London Housing Strategy, and the Mayor has pledged to alter his London Plan to remove prescriptive, and what he believes are counter-productive, targets such as the 50% affordable housing target for new developments.Alan Benson, Head of Housing and Homelessness at the GLA has said that the draft London Housing Strategy for Assembly and Functional Body consultation is likely to be published in November. A discussion about the strategy will be the main agenda item at the next meeting of the Mayor's Housing Forum on 30 January 2009. Read more to topRt. Hon. Lord Mandelson - Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform: Northern regeneration and renewal summit speechSecretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Lord Mandelson delivered his first speech at trade magazine Regeneration and Renewal's Northern conference this week. Referring to his White Paper ‘Building the Knowledge Driven Economy' he said that the pace of construction needs to be accelerated as part of a fresh approach to business strategy aimed at ‘laying the foundations of future prosperity'. He went on to say that the switch to a low carbon economy represents a massive economic opportunity, and called for an end to needless regulation and instead a ‘deeper' public private partnership.He said that the role of the regional Development Agencies was crucial to regional success and committed the Government to assisting small and medium size businesses get through the ‘extraordinary/ current economic climate.Read the speech in full to topHousing market newsThe Rightmove house price indexThe Rightmove house price index, published this week, reported that:The average asking prices were now 4.9% less than a year ago, the largest ever annual fall recordedThe traditional autumn asking price bounce was more muted than previous years with new sellers asking an unrealistic 1% more than last month. The average house price rose from £227,438 in September to £229,691 in October.Miles Shipside, Commercial Director of Rightmove commented:"... [W]e continue to see evidence of the lack of urgency for sellers to enter the market resulting in average unsold stock per estate agent decreasing from 78 to 76. These levels still remain at historic highs, a testament to the lack of buyer activity as well as sellers being unwilling to accept a price in line with those few deals that are being achieved. Sellers should be mindful that rapidly rising unemployment is historically linked to a surge in forced sales, driving prices down further.""Most home owners have been shielded by 15 years of economic growth, coupled with historically low unemployment and interest rates. They hope that the Government intervention in the finance markets will lead to a more stable housing market... Predicting outcomes is difficult in uncertain times, but we believe that the steps being taken to avoid a collapse in the global financial system will result in a paradigm shift in the UK housing market."Download a copy of the Rightmove house price index to topNAEA survey: Increasing number of first time buyersMembers of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) reported this week that:The number of sales per agent rose for the first time since January from an average of five sales in August to six in September.The average percentage of first time buyers on agents' books was 9.5%, an increase from 8.30% the previous month.The average time between instruction and sale rose to 14.13 weeks from 8.64 in September 2007.The average number of house hunters on agents' books rose slightly to 207 in August to 211 in September.The number of properties on agents' books remained the same this month at an average of 91.The percentage of agreed sales which have fallen through increased this month to 11.72 compared to 10.22 the month before.Chris Brown, President of the NAEA, commented:"It is evident from the results that despite some positive indicators, consumers are still cautious with many continuing to adopt a wait and see attitude and are only moving if it is necessary. Those who are not desperate to move are staying put in their homes and waiting for some stability to be restored across all sections of the market." "First time buyers however, seem to be returning. This is most likely due to the Government's decision on stamp duty last month. Whilst the announcement is not applicable to all regions across the UK, it might have had an effect on this market group. For those first time buyers who have the correct finances in place, now is the perfect time to buy a home. However, the NAEA continue to urge the Government to review the market holistically and offer this group a stamp duty holiday."Read more to topEconomic newsCML: Gross mortgage lending declines in SeptemberGross mortgage lending was an estimated £17.7bn in September, a decline of 10% from August and 42% from September last year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Gross lending for the third quarter is estimated at £62bn down 16% from the second quarter of 2008 and 37% from the third quarter of last year.The CML have stated that a seasonal fall is typically experienced between August and September, but that £17.7bn was the lowest gross lending figure since January 2005 and the lowest September figure since 2001. CML Director General, Michael Coogan, said: "The mortgage market is open for business. But weakening consumer demand and ongoing funding constraints will dampen monthly lending figures for the rest of this year and into the first quarter of 2009.""We estimate gross lending in 2008 will be around £255bn (£363bn in 2007) and net lending of around £40bn (£108bn in 2007)." Read more CML: New arrears guidance and response to government announcementsThe Council of Mortgage Lenders has published new industry guidance on mortgage arrears and possessions. The aim of the guidance is to give lenders a practical guide to the requirements, and examples of good practice against which they can benchmark their own policies and procedures. It is not a definitive statement of what lenders "should" do in each case, but rather a reference point to support lenders' self-assessment of their own policies and procedures.CML Director General Michael Coogan commented:"Despite the fact that the rate of repossession is modest, we recognise that there is significant public concern about this subject. The new guidance should help to reassure consumers that lenders are genuinely committed to seeing repossession as a last resort, and that the checks and balances that protect consumers are in place."Read more to topBank of England publish Monetary Policy Committee minutes of 8 October meetingThe minutes of the special meeting of the MPC on 8 October, at which it was decided to reduce the bank rate to 4.5%, were published this week.Download a copy of the MPC minutes Underlying growth in retail sales continues to slowThe Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported this week that in the three months July to September the volume of retail sales increased 0.1% compared with the previous three months.Total sales in volume in the three months to September was 2.3% higher than the same period a year ago, the lowest growth since April 2006. Between August and September, total sales volumes decreased by 0.4%.Read more to topIndustry newsHousebuilding Innovation Awards 2008At a glittering ceremony at the Millennium Mayfair hotel in London, Redrow and Explore Living scooped the prestigious housebuilding Innovator of the Year awards at the HBF/Housebuilder Housebuilding Innovation Awards last night (October 23).Hosted by Today programme presenter John Humphrys and attended by 350 housebuilding industry guests, the Awards recognised excellence in innovation in the industry.Redrow was applauded for its regeneration work, community involvement programme, its marketing campaign and training initiatives. Explore Living was praised for its innovative use of technology for its marketing of Quest Place, Essex.The Housebuilder Special Award went to English Partnerships for its outstanding regeneration work and packages aimed at first time buyers and key workers. Several entries had adopted EP's first time buyers model and the award also acknowledged this.View the full list of winners to topRICS: Fall in demand forces tenders to remain lowConstruction contractors, faced with a drop in demand, are having to hold prices in order to secure tenders, despite pressure from increasing resource costs, according to the latest Tender Price Index compiled by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors'(RICS) Building Cost Information Service (BCIS).The Tender Price Index reported that the price of new construction work in Q2 2008 remained the same as the previous quarter (which had already seen a fall) whilst costs continued to rise: costs of materials rose 5.5% whilst wage rates rose 4.4% in the year to Q2. Overall new orders for construction fell eight percent in Q2 compared with the previous quarter and 20 percent compared with the same quarter the year earlier. New work output is expected to fall in 2008 (-2.0%) and 2009 (-3.0%) with private housing and private industrial being hit the hardest, together with private commercial in 2009. Data used to compile the Tender Price Index forecasts private housing to be down 28% by the end of year and to fall a further 14% in 2009 and private industrial to see a fall of 21.7% in 2008 and 10% in 2009. Private commercial is expected to fall 12.7% in 2009.Peter Rumble, BCIS Information Services Manager, commented:"With the construction industry clearly heading to a prolonged recession it is understandable that contractors are being cautious with their tenders. With output levels set to decline in all sectors but infrastructure and public non-housing, competition for tenders will be much higher. Contractors, or their subcontractors, will increasingly have to bear the brunt of any increases in resource costs, and will not be able to pass them on to the client in order to secure new orders."Read more Blueprint for North York Moors approvedThe North York Moors National Park Authority's Core Strategy and related Development Policies have been found ‘sound' by the Government's Planning Inspectorate. The Authority is the first National Park in England to have both sets of policies approved.The Core Strategy and Development Policies document forms the backbone of the Local Development Framework and will be used to influence and guide how villages and the rural landscape will look in years to come. There have been three rounds of consultation with local people, parish councils and community groups to make sure that the document reflects the views of those people who live and work in the North York Moors.It is anticipated that the policies will be formally adopted by the Authority at its Planning Committee meeting on 13 November 2008. After this date, any planning decisions made by the Authority will be made with reference to the new policies.The Core Strategy also highlights the type of development that will be looked upon favourably, such as that which boosts key community services, promotes healthy and sustainable communities and enhances the unique landscape and building characteristics of the National Park.Read more to topEventsHBF Technical ConferenceWednesday 12 November, University of YorkThis year has seen the Government propose major changes to the way that Building Regulations are enforced. With many regulations under consultation, it is important to keep informed of current and future legislation. The morning section of the conference will provide delegates with up to date information on Parts G & L, the Code for Sustainable Homes as well as examining the future direction of travel for building regulations.The afternoon is to be devoted to the delivery of Zero Carbon Homes with the agenda to be set by the new Zero Carbon Hub. For further details please contact the events team on 020 7960 1646 or events@hbmedia.co.uk For other HBF events visit the website http://www.hbf.co.uk/index.php?id=eventsandmeetingsFor HBM events visit http://www.hbmedia.co.uk/ to topRosie HinchliffeView Previous Weekly News Summary
